Guwahati, Feb 26: More than two decades after a murder that sparked unrest and curfew in Silchar, a Fast Track Court in Cachar on Wednesday, February 25 sentenced three men to life imprisonment in the 2004 killing of Munna Majumdar.
The Court of the Additional Sessions Judge (Fast Track Court), Cachar, presided over by Bankim Sharma, convicted cloth merchant Dhanraj Surana of Swarupa Complex in Janiganj, Silchar, along with his two employees, Ratan Debnath and Rinku Dev alias Madhusudan Dev, both residents of Udharband.
Munna Majumdar, a resident of Shiv Colony in Silchar, was employed at Surana Garments, owned by Surana. According to court records, on November 5, 2004, the three accused took Majumdar to Silchar Medical College and Hospital, where he was declared brought dead. The circumstances of his death triggered widespread suspicion, leading to public outrage across the town.
The incident caused a serious deterioration in the law-and-order situation at the time, prompting authorities to impose curfew in Silchar to prevent further violence. The case drew significant attention due to the employer-employee relationship between the accused and the deceased and the intensity of the public reaction.
After prolonged legal proceedings, examination of evidence and witness testimonies, the court concluded the trial and pronounced life imprisonment for all three convicts, bringing closure to a case that had remained in public memory for over twenty years. Legal observers said the verdict reaffirmed judicial accountability and sent a strong message against criminal impunity.
